In an effort to combat poaching, drone technology has been paired with software and techniques used by astronomers in a system designed to automatically detect and monitor wildlife in hard to reach areas, even at night when most poaching occurs.

​Poachers typically hunt at night, which is why drone-mounted infrared cameras are being used to spot them. The problem is, it can be difficult to tell humans from animals in the videos. Scientists from USC are making the job easier, using artificial intelligence.

​Many wild elephants already wear GPS-equipped collars, which let wildlife officials track their whereabouts. An upgrade to those collars, however, could soon allow those officials to instantly know when poachers are shooting at the elephants.

There are a number of trials being conducted to investigate how small aerial surveillance aircraft can be used to combat poaching. The latest effort involves the use of AI software to quickly identify poachers and animals in drone footage, in an attempt to better protect elephants and rhinos.

As is the story throughout much of the parklands across Africa, endangered species in Tanzania are under threat from poaching. So following other conservationists across the continent, Bathawk Recon have field-tested surveillance drones to better protect the local wildlife.